Hack Your Own Wii Component Cables

Yesterday, I mentioned how crazy people have been to get Wii Component cables. People are paying upwards of $100 US on eBay just to have them. So what is the deal with the Wii Component Cables? The Wii can't do HD resolutions you say? Well, you're right, but it can do progressive scan at 480p on an HDTV or EDTV if you have Nintendo's Wii Component Cables. As noted on several sites, the component cables make a night and day difference in the black levels and the quality of the picture.

Nintendo decided that North America doesn't need component cables, and grossly underestimated demand for them. Although Nintendo says that they have already shipped some of the backorders this week, anyone that ordered after November 22 won't see anything till after December 18. If you want them right away, eBay seems to be the only place to go, and again, $100 bucks seems to be the asking price. They retail for $29.95 US. That's almost as good as Playstation 3 Mark Up!

In response to this, the good Netizens of the web have banded together to create a guide to Hack Your Stock Wii Composite Cables into Wii Component Video Cables. The process is quite tricky requiring quite a mess of splicing and the use of small paperclips to accomplish the task. Definitely not for the faint of heart, but worth trying if you want them NOW rather than later.

If anyone tries this, do tell me how it worked out. I want to keep playing my Wii in the meantime. Screwing up my only means of connectivity is not an option.